Circuit of The Americas secures V8 Supercars race in May of 2013

AUSTIN, Texas (Oct. 4, 2012)— Circuit of The Americas today announced a formal, multi-year agreement with the V8 Supercars Series that will allow the Australian touring car series to make its North American debut at the new Central Texas sports and entertainment venue May 17-19, 2013. Circuit of The Americas will open to the public this fall as host to the much-anticipated 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX™.

The V8 Supercars Championship is made up of 15 championship events across Australia, New Zealand and Abu Dhabi, with the United States joining the schedule in 2013. The highly popular series is the world’s leading Touring Car Championship recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile and enjoys regular carriage by the SPEED™ television network.

The series features great competition from a wonderfully colorful collection of teams and drivers.

Steve Sexton

“V8 Supercars brings to us an extremely exciting series that’s a great addition to our motorsport line up at Circuit of The Americas,” Circuit President Steve Sexton said. “The series features great competition from a wonderfully colorful collection of teams and drivers, who enhance their on-track action with great personalities and storylines. They are strong advocates of a major-entertainment atmosphere at their events. We know U.S. race fans will find the V8 series tremendously engaging and will look forward to its 2013 debut at our new facility in Austin.”

“It’s fantastic to be part of Circuit of The America’s events roster for the coming year and to bring V8 Supercars’ unique brand of action-packed racing to our growing U.S. fan base,” V8 Supercars Chief Executive Officer David Malone said. “The Austin Circuit is coming together beautifully and will offer our teams and drivers fabulous facilities from which to compete—and one of the most challenging road courses ever designed. We’re delighted to showcase Australia’s premier motorsport category at first-class venue and in a national marketplace with a healthy appetite for top-notch auto racing and family friendly entertainment.”

Texas Governor Rick Perry and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh

Photo by: Kirk Tuck

V8 Supercars has quickly gained popularity in Australia and New Zealand and is in the process of expanding to new international jurisdictions. Formerly known as the Australian Touring Car Championship, the current series was devised in 1993 and branded as “V8 Supercars” in 1997. The cars are based on modified versions of Australia’s two most popular passenger cars, the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. Automakers Nissan and Mercedes have announced that they will also provide vehicles for the series in 2013. The series includes races on purpose-built racetracks, such as Circuit of The Americas, and on street circuits. Race formats include sprint races as short as 100 kilometers, as well as middle-distance endurance races with the race length often depending on the venue.

Tickets for the 2013 V8 Supercars series at Circuit of The Americas go on sale Tuesday, Oct. 16.

The V8 Supercar series was recruited to Austin and Circuit of The Americas with the assistance of the Austin Sports Commission.